Plant interference and chemical toxins in upland pastures |
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| Authors: | J NORRINGTON-DAVIES D J BUCKERIDGE |
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| Institution: | Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK |
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| Abstract: | Supernatants derived from desiccated plant material gathered from Agrostis/Festuca vegetation had an inhibitory effect on the germination and early development of seedlings of Trifolium repens cv. S184. Two compounds, o -hydroxyphenylpropionic acid and benzoic acid, were identified chromatographically and their structures confirmed by mass spectrometry. Commercial preparations of the two compounds were effective inhibitors at a concentration of 10?2 and 10?3 m respectively when T. repens was used as the phytometer species. Benzoic acid lost its inhibitory effect when the pH of the two solutions was adjusted to pH 5·5. The roots of seedlings of white clover were severely distorted by o -hydroxyphenylpropionic add at 10?3 m . It is likely that phenolic acids, produced from the surface trash created by slot seeding procedures, interfere with the establishment of white clover in upland pastures. |
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